The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, a division of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign addresses issues related to pollution, resource conservation, waste reduction and reuse, and sustainable economic development that impact Illinois and the global community. For more information about the Center, visit the ISTC website.

Registration opens Friday, Sept. 5 to attend the Illinois Governor's Sustainability Award Ceremony & Symposium in Downtown Chicago on Thursday, October 23. For 28 years, ISTC has presented the Illinois Governor's Sustainability Award to organizations in Illinois that demonstrate a commitment to our economy, society and environment through outstanding and innovative sustainability practices.

The morning symposium will focus on the "Water-Energy-Waste Nexus" with speakers discussing ISTC's programs for helping organizations to reduce waste and water and energy consumption, as well as business speakers providing success stories of their sustainability efforts. In addition, among the speakers will be Ben Bezark of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. He will discuss the Innovation Institute's vision that products be made of safe, quality materials that provide long, productive value, after which as 'waste' they serve as components for other production cycles.

After lunch Illinois businesses and organizations will be recognized for their demonstrated commitment to sustainable practices which are productive and environmentally friendly.

U of I to Host Scientific Workshop on PCB Cleanup Sept. 17

The University of Illinois will present a one-day workshop of academic and industry experts to examine various management practices and policies for handling polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) waste. PCBs are hazardous chemicals and known carcinogens that were widely used in Illinois and throughout the U.S. as coolants and insulating fluids as well as in paints, cements, PVC coatings, flame retardants, lubricants, sealants, adhesives, and many other products.

"PCBs and Their Impact on Illinois" will be presented from 9 a.m.- 3:30 p.m. Sept. 17 at the University of Illinois at Chicago's Student Center East. Registration is required for attending the workshop as well as joining a live Internet feed.

Links to the agenda and information about workshop presenters can be accessed are available on the workshop webpage.

The workshop is sponsored by the University of Illinois as a service to the citizens of Illinois. ISTC is providing event support for this workshop.

The Illinois Green Office Challenge (IGOC) is getting underway for organizations and businesses in three Central Illinois communities this fall. Offices in Champaign-Urbana, Bloomington-Normal, and Peoria can participate in this friendly competition to conserve energy and water while reducing waste. Registration begins in early September; visit the IGOC website for more information.

ISTC, with assistance from the Delta Institute which organizes the Chicago GOC, wanted to expand the opportunities for more sustainable businesses/ organizations throughout the state and build awareness of activities that can reduce use of resources, reduce waste, as well as save money. ISTC is organizing a pilot challenge starting with the three communities this year, with plans to expand to other cities in Illinois in the future.The IGOC website will provide many resources to aid organizations as they tackle different activities and ISTC will provide assistance as needed to help organizations get started on their quest for 'greener' practices while helping their bottom line.

Monthly events on sustainability topics will be held in each of the communities. Champions in various categories get added recognition at a year-end awards ceremony. For more information about the Illinois Green Office Challenge, contact Bart Bartels at bbartel@illinois.edu.

U of I's Scorecard on Zero Waste Includes Dinner Time, Game Time

In ISTC's game, zero is a winning score. The Center is supporting two efforts this fall to take a bite out of the tons of trash which could go to landfills when it is best reused and recycled. Zero waste is a behavioral model where the amount of material going to landfills is cut to as close to zero as possible. The supply chain must also be employed to take advantage of design principles to find products that are made to be reused, not trashed.

One expanding pilot is taking place at Dining Services/University Housing on the U of I campus. Purple nitrile gloves used in campus kitchens are being collected and sent to the glove manufacturer,Kimberly-Clark, for recycling into bike racks, outdoor furniture and other valuable products. Kimberly-Clark gave the university its Greenovation Award, which recognizes successful implementation of "green" innovation ideas that have the potential to produce significant eco-friendly changes. ISTC will be working with other campus units on glove recycling this fall. ISTC began the nitrile glove recycling efforts on campus by having all of its laboratory gloves recycled. For details, visit http://www.istc.illinois.edu/news/news8_nitrilegloves.cfm

In addition, the Fighting Illini's Homecoming Game on Oct. 25 is also being planned as a zero-waste event. Illini fans will have the chance to compete with other universities nationwide to see who can get closest to zero-percent waste. Hundreds of three-bin stations will enable recycling and composting to be diverted from the landfill. All materials will be weighed and reported to the Game Day Challenge. Results will be posted in November. ISTC's partners for the big game are the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics, Facilities & Services, the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment, and Silver Mine Subs.

Earlier this year, ISTC began a zero-waste program to help business and organizations to cut the amount of material going to landfills to as close to zero as possible. They have already performed waste audits around Illinois where they measure the tonnage of trash and develop channels for reuse or recycling. They also analyze the supply chain to take advantage of design principles to find products that are made to be reused, not trashed.

U of I Extension Funds Program to Cut Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Environment

As awareness and concerns grow about the effects of numerous contaminants being found in the environment, ISTC is continuing its efforts to study the fate and transport of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) in waters and soils in Illinois and ways to prevent them from entering the environment. Wei Zheng and Nancy Holm, along with collaborators from Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Program and Dept. of Crop Sciences, received a grant in early July from the University of Illinois Extension for a two-year research/outreach project titled "Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products: Extending Knowledge and Mitigation Strategies."

The award was part of the U of I Extension and Outreach Initiative, a special partnership between U of I Extension, the Dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences (ACES), and the Office of the Provost. Six awards were selected from a pool of 71 pre-proposals from 16 different campus units. The Initiative is intended to "expand Extension's research base across the Urbana campus, raise awareness of Extension among faculty and stakeholders, and advance the University's land grant mission through new, innovative partnerships."

ISTC previously has collaborated with the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant to establish prescription drug drop-off points at Champaign County law enforcement offices and create awareness for that program. This new two-year Extension grant will help to establish up to 50 additional drop-off points in other Illinois counties as well as fund numerous outreach and educational activities related to the hazards of improper storage and disposal of PPCPs. The grant also will support ISTC's research to trace the presence of hormones and pharmaceuticals at wastewater treatment plants and at confined animal feedlot operations (CAFOs) and farms; examine the efficiency of current water treatment technologies to remove these emerging classes of pollutants; and allow ISTC to continue the development of a promising new technology for on-farm treatment of PPCP-contaminated wastewater.

Biochar 'Win-sanity' Has Moderated Under Scientific Scrutiny

As research on multiple beneficial uses of biochar continues to mature, the 'win-sanity' of early promises of an economic and environmental panacea are now moderating, according to Janice Thies, leading biochar researcher and keynote speaker at the Second Midwest Biochar Conference on August 8.

ISTC hosted the conference in Champaign, where dozens of researchers, entrepreneurs and others shared their latest findings on biochar, a form of charcoal that is produced by pyrolysis of biomass. While around since ancient times, a lot of enthusiasm developed over the past decade that the substance might be an environmental magic bullet that could permanently sequester carbon from the atmosphere, make soils more fertile, enable perpetual agricultural production, filter toxins, keep plant materials out of landfills, and a host of other ideas.

Theis, an associate professor of crop and soil sciences at Cornell University, said the varied benefits of biochar have been confirmed in many cases. "But the optimism of those early years have not been borne out. We're finding things are just not that simple." Properties of biochar for various applications are quite different depending on the source of the biomass, the conditions under which it is pyrolized, and the soil types in which it is used, she explained.

More research is needed to establish the applicability of biochar for specific situations, she added. Still, the promise of biochar to sequester carbon and its use as a soil amendment seems to be in many ways confirmed, especially in areas where soils are dry and unproductive.

ISTC recently received an additional donation from the Russell and Helen Dilworth Memorial Fund to continue its support of the Center's research efforts. We are currently examining ways to improve the carbon sequestration capabilities of biochar and enhance its capability as a slow-release fertilizer.

Grants Awarded as Part of ISTC's Water Conservation Initiative

As part of its Billion Gallon Challenge water conservation initiative, ISTC provided funding for five water conservation projects through its Sponsored Research Grant Program beginning on July 1, 2014. Grant recipients were selected, in part, for their ability to demonstrate real water savings during fiscal 2015. American Water Corp., Carus Corp., the U of I's Illinois State Water Survey, Loyola University, and the city of Urbana were awarded grants. A link for complete details is available at on the Challenge webpage.

Alaska Cookstoves Studied for Indoor Air Quality

ISTC's Indoor Climate Research and Training Program (ICRT) is part of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency effort to document the benefits of cleaner cooking, heating and lighting practices in parts of the world where biomass is burned indoors.

Six $1.5 million awards went to teams at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana; the University of California, Berkeley; University of Colorado, Boulder; Colorado State University; University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; and Yale University. Tami Bond, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering will lead the University of Illinois team. Paul Francisco will lead the effort at ICRT.

The work will analyze the benefits of switching to new fuels and heating/cooking techniques in parts of Alaska and regions of Asia and Africa where there is a long-standing tradition of using biomass in cookstoves.

A Look at Sustainability Planning as ISTC Seminar Series Begins Again this Fall

As more and more companies and other entities look toward ensuring they are using their financial and natural resources wisely, interest in sustainability planning has increased greatly. This fall ISTC's Sustainability Seminar Series will explore how organizations can get started with or improve their sustainability planning and will examine plans and projects being developed or already completed by various sectors in Illinois, including municipalities, various businesses, and educational institutions.

The first seminar will kick off on Thurs., Sept. 11 at noon - 1 p.m. at ISTC with a presentation by Deb Jacobson, ISTC's Senior Operations Manager in its Oakbrook office. She will discuss what factors to consider as your organization begins the path to developing or improving your sustainability plan. The presentation will be in the Stephen J. Warner Conference room at ISTC and also broadcast live. Further details are available on the ISTC website.

Wet 2014, Careful Husbandry Yields Bumper Crop in Campus Prairie

Next door to the President's home on the U of I at Champaign-Urbana campus is a thriving prairie patch of more than two acres.

It has been a long journey from a forlorn field of dandelions to the colorful explosion of the kind of prairie plants that once blanketed much of the state. Favorable weather and hard work by four undergraduate students under the direction of John Marlin, research associate at ISTC, has brought the reconstructed prairie to a healthy tipping point this year.

Funded by the Student Sustainability Committee, visitors now can walk through the collection of more than 40 native species on three trails that transect the site. Now that the non-grassy varieties are well established the team of 'restoration technicians' will continue to develop the prairie patch with species of prairie grass.